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Category: Current Intelligence

So the one of the big debates today has been over the number of guns that the Vegas shooter had. With some arguing he had too many, some wondering why he had any, and of course Michael Moore jumping back for his five seconds to say guns are evil… essentially boiling down to accusations across both sides of the major political divides.

This did however get me thinking, is there such a thing as too many guns? I said to myself, I have a blog now, why not put my thoughts out there… since that’s what blogs are for.

I love guns, don’t get me wrong when I ask the question if there is such a thing as too many, I’d love to have a collection… but I don’t “need” a collection.

So first of all what do I need a gun for? That should be the question anyone should ask before they buy one. I don’t hunt, nor live in Kabul, nor do I shoot competitions for a living, or have livestock and a hoard of gold hidden in my buried pirate chest. I do know that the world is a dangerous place, and that there is a time and place where a firearm is an equalizer, because of that I feel the need to own them. I am trained, mature and relatively in my right mind.

I believe that the 2d Amendment to the Constitution is not really a “right” to bear arms, but a requirement… I can get into that at another time, but the Founders, in my mind did not put the right to bear arms into the Constitution to allow you to join the NRA or be a hunter, I do believe they meant it as a way to protect the Constitution and the what that they intended this country to be.

I also enjoy target shooting as a hobby when I have the time, so just like a golfer who “needs” more than three clubs to perfect his game I have a few additional firearms for variety. I enjoy shooting for sport, just like a golfer can rent clubs, but chooses to buy his or her own, I have done the same. People like to own things they enjoy so that they know the quality, the value, that they will be able to use them when they want and don’t have to wait for someone else.

I own manual action, semi-auto, and even black powder firearms, because I like the variety… for no other reason than that, same reason some people own 5 cars, or a dozen golf clubs. However I budget when I want to buy a new one so that I’m not buying guns at the expense of food or rent.

So is there such a thing as too many? Yes, when ownership of the thing prevents you from being a reasonable person who can manage their responsibilities and their desires like a productive citizen.

Like I’ve said, I’m a bit of a news junkie… it comes with the job I think, combined with parents who presented a strong influence by reading anything and everything.

I ran across an article today that reports upon a new law that was voted into effect by the French Parliament (similar to our U.S. Congress, but not quite the same) which from what I can find increases the powers of the French National Police and internal security to do some pretty, for lack of a better way to put it, repressive things.

From my sources (the news) it will bolster police surveillance powers and make it easier to close mosques suspected of preaching hatred (France being a predominantly Catholic Country this could easily become a slippery slope to other religious views).

The French aren’t known for their love of free speech like we are in the U.S. but they are known for the relatively regular revolution (seriously about every 25-ish) years, so although they have had some brutal terror events in the last few years that have lead to this new law, could they actually be signs of things to come?

“The interior ministry, without approval from a judge, will be able to set up security zones when there is a threat, restricting the movement of people and vehicles in and out and with power to carry out searches inside the area.”

By now you may be wondering where I’m going with this. Look back at French History, it’s had some brutal revolutions in the past, class against class, religion, security, changes in demographics… you name it, have all been the reasons for these revolutions. Could the current laws be more for the security of the state than the security of the “polis” (body of citizens)? Now more importantly how does this apply to the average U.S. Citizen? France has around 365,000 service members in its military, it has strong economic ties globally, it has a defense industry, technology, etc… it is not a 3d world nation, and it would take some work to make it such. If it suddenly becomes a full authoritarian state instead of just the fun semi-socialist welfare state it is now, it would be one with nuclear weapons. We worry so much about the “rogue” states out there but we don’t typically consider the change that happens every election time with states that are our “peers”.

Keep in mind before you go to bed tonight that once upon a time no one thought of the Germans as a threat to the world, its economy and millions of human beings.